With issue #6 — the official start of AvX act two — now out in the world, we're at the official halfway mark for Avengers vs. X-Men. There are a lot of books (five!) to look at for this week's Post Game, so, to borrow from some of our generation's greatest lyrical minds, let's get it started in here.

THE BIG QUESTION:

There have long been questions about where exactly Cyclops' head is at, and those have taken an even more literal bend since he's become one-fifth of a Phoenix host. For this week's question, we once again turn to Tom Brevoort, Marvel senior vice president of publishing and Avengers vs. X-Men series editor.

Newsarama: Tom, when things pick up in Avengers vs. X-Men #6, the Phoenix Five have already caused great change in the world, and clearly are doing very noble work. But are the characters, especially Cyclops (who we hear the most from in this issue) still completely in the driver's seat, or is the Phoenix force starting to exert its influence? Cyclops certainly seems like a different person in the issue — a new outfit, stylized speech bubbles and being constantly surrounded by flames will do that — but is that indicative of another voice in his head, or just being understandably altered by the dramatic change he's experienced?

Tom Brevoort: There’s a deliberate ambiguity inherent in this situation that I don’t especially want to dispel, so I think that at this point each reader can conjecture for themselves. By that same token, when Jean Grey was the Phoenix, how much was she in control at various points in time? It’s not even a solid-state situation, as Jean proved back in the day.

THE BIG HITS:

Avengers vs. X-Men #6: Olivier Coipel steps in for second act art duties, joined by writer Jonathan Hickman in an issue very different than from the first five chapters of the main series. The now-hopelessly outgunned A's don't start versus-ing the X's until the climax, and their only hope of standing a chance against even part of the Phoenix Five is new armor from Tony Stark — which doesn't prove all that helpful. Thanks for a late-in-the-fourth-quarter intercession from Scarlet Witch, the Avengers do manage to pry Hope away from Utopia, which leads to Cyclops ominously declaring "No More Avengers" — as teased by Marvel more than a month ago.

New Avengers #27: This issue tightens up the K'un L'un/Phoenix connection further (as does AvX #6), as Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato bring things into the present, with Iron Fist and Spider-Man advising Hope — and ol' Pete teaches her the immortal words "with great power comes great responsibility."

Secret Avengers #28: Rick Remender and Renato Guedes' Secret Avengers tie-in wraps up with a major development concerning the newly resurrected Captain Mar-Vell, who provides some inspiring words to Carol Danvers — seemingly teeing up the new Captain Marvel series starting next month.

Uncanny X-Men #14: Though marked as an AvX tie-in, this comic by Kieron Gillen and Dustin Weaver is in reality something else entirely — a look at what Mr. Sinister has been up to since the early issues of the relaunched series, and as befitting the character, it's colorfully unexpected. From the looks of things, the story will integrate with AvX in a much more overt way starting with next issue.

Avengers Academy #32: The X-Men didn't like Sentinels before, and they're in no mood to put up with them now that five mutants have Phoenix powers. This issue by Christos Gage and Timothy Green II shows the Phoenix-ed up Emma Frost arriving at the school to dispatch of Juston's Sentinel, but despite cosmic powers equaling near-omnipotence, it's not as easy as she expected.

Worth noting:

- The second Infinite Comics release accompanied the digital version of Avengers vs. X-Men #6 (and is available as a standalone download for 99 cents). Focusing on Cyclops, the creative team of Mark Waid and Carlo Barberi are joined by Balak, who inspired the whole Infinite Comics idea. Read Newsarama's Best Shots review here.

- This week in AR: Avengers vs. X-Men #6 is AR app-compatible, with the usual look at black-and-white pages, a recap video on the cover and a video from Siobhan Beasley — an attorney explaining the connection between "Pax Utopia" and "Pax Romana" (keep in mind, one is fictional).

- Each installment of the main AvX series has come in lengthier than Marvel's standard 20-page count, and issue #6 nearly doubles it, with 36 story pages.

- Beast has essentially declared himself a mutant without a country, leaving the Avengers but seemingly not necessarily siding with the X-Men, either. Things are getting shades of grey-y all over the place, with Black Panther also conscientiously objecting to the X-Men's plans.

- White Tiger is thinking of asking Juston to a Lila Cheney concert. Wonder what her new stuff sounds like?
NEXT WEEK:

June ends with a relatively small AvX week, with two tie-in books out: Kid Gladiator taking on the Avengers in Wolverine and the X-Men #12 (preview here), and the long-awaited Rogue vs. Ms. Marvel rematch in X-Men Legacy #269 (preview here).
AND FINALLY:
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